6,000 Light Bulbs Make Cloud Art

Earlier this month in Alberta, Canada, at the Nuit Blanche Calgary, an exhibit called CLOUD showed how even the simplest inventions still inspire awe and wonder. The art installation, which was set up in Olympic Plaza park,was made up of 6,000 light bulbs: 1,000 working and 5,000 burnt out.

Hanging from the cloud were thousands of chains, each of them attached to a single bulb. Visitors stood underneath the cloud and pulled at the chains. The cloud would brighten and dim as this happened, and judging by the video, it was a beautiful sight to see. The incandescent bulbs for the interactive sculpture were collected through donations from local homes and businesses. In an email to Discovery News, Caitlind r.c. Brown, the designer of the CLOUD said that, "The idea was to create an informal collaboration between the community and the artists, reduce costs and experiment with the potential of items post-use."

Brown described the arduous process of putting up the structure, saying it required "a small team of strong men and heavy machinery." After transporting the sculpture to the park, a base was build on-site, hoisted up with a fork lift and bolted in place. The CLOUD's parts all together weight over 1,500 pounds, and because of its asymmetrical shape, the weight was not evenly balanced. While this seems like a difficult task, Brown says the take down was even harder. Probably because the exhibit lasted from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.